Fish stringers are used for securing caught fish and for carrying or handling the catch out of the water. Preferably the stringer can be used in such a fashion as to keep the caught fish in water while the fisherman continues to seek his limit for the day. Fish are generally connected to the stringer by running a single continuous line through the mouth and gill of each fish and simply stacking them up on one another.
Fish stringers that are well suited for keeping fish alive in the water are typically difficult to handle out of the water, and vice versa. Consider the device disclosed by Wickman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 1,004,324, which has a serial group of independent hooks for connecting fish, but has no handle or place near the center of gravity by which the stringer may be held. Such a stringer is unwieldy to carry with a full load of fish.
On the other hand, the device disclosed by Callender, U.S. Pat. No. 936,701 is conveniently carried by a handle, but requires that the fish be bunched together on one large circular hook. This arrangement forces each fish to move against the weight of all the other fish on the hook.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved fish stringer which overcomes the limitations and disadvantages of prior art devices, is easy and convenient to use, is easily and comfortably carried, both empty and loaded, can be secured to any of a wide variety of objects, and is of low cost and facile manufacture.